Boca Raton cuts back sea grapes, gives ocean view to A1A travelers

Environmentalists worry that sea turtle hatchlings will be affected

Sea grapes along A1A across from Spanish River Park have been removed or… (Mark Randall, Sun Sentinel )

April 18, 2012|By Larry Barszewski, Sun Sentinel

BOCA RATON — Catching a glimpse of the ocean hasn't been easy if you're jogging, driving or biking along State Road A1A in the city, where massive sea grape trees line much of the roadway and block the view.

The city punched holes in that barrier this year, creating four corridors near Spanish River Park with views of the ocean by cutting back and cutting down vegetation in the way.

"Thus far, the response from the people that live on the barrier island and the many citizens who visit the barrier island is just fantastic," said Jack Fox, president of the Beach Condo Association of Boca Raton and Highland Beach, who pushed for the project.

While it has been welcomed by island residents who have long craved a better ocean vista, the project concerns environmentalists who fear it may discourage sea turtles from nesting or disorient hatchlings.

Kirt Rusenko, marine conservationist at the nearby Gumbo Limbo Nature Center, said the beach in front of the park is already a concern. A quarter of the turtle nestings at the park last year resulted in hatchlings becoming disoriented — going toward A1A instead of the ocean — compared with 10 percent of the nestings overall on the city's coast, he said.

"We won't know the real results of the trimming and the dune restoration until we get through the nesting season," said Donald Richardson, a plant ecologist and owner of Tampa-based Ecological Consultants Inc., who is overseeing the project.

The city received a permit for the work a year ago from the state Department of Environmental Protection. It has a $375,000 contract with Florida Natives Nursery of Plant City for the removal, irrigation work and new plantings, and the total cost is expected to come in at under $500,000, said Jennifer Bistyga, the city's project manager.

Right now, the three, 400-foot-long strips and one 200-foot-long strip resemble scalpings: Contractors ripped out all vegetation — both sea grapes and exotic invasives — within 30 feet of the roadway. They chopped back the sea grape trees closer to the ocean to a height four feet above the road.

"It's just like constructing a building. In the first stages of constructing a building, it looks horrible," Fox said. "Bringing in the plants is the next major thing, and that will really dress the thing up."

Temporary irrigation lines are being installed and officials expect new salt-hardy dune plantings to take place in May, Bistyga said.